dog taken from homeless man

hello all, while watching Animal Cops/Phoenix on the Animal planet chanel, I saw a very sad episode.
there was a homeless, aged man, who had found a puppy that he said he had since it was two weeks old. He obviously loved the dog, who was now either a young adult or older puppy at least. It had been hit by a car while following him and he of course didn't have the money to take the dog to the vet.
Someone saw the injured dog, called the authorities and the dog was "signed over" to the humane society.
I know the dog needed medical attention, but it bothered me that the homeless man wasn't treated with more compassion. The young man handling the case was not rude really, just-well-despondent to the human beings feelings.
He basically told the old man that he could either sign the dog over willingly or the police could be called and the dog taken anyway. I guess what has really stuck with me was the way the old man talked to his dog "Sassy". He had a little divided bowl and had given her water, and no doubt had shared his meager findings of food with her. She didn't look thin. The poor old fellow told is dog that he loved her, and he asked the young man to promise that she would always have food and water.
It seemed cruel to take that dog away from the man. Couldnt the pup have been vetted and returned? I know she wouldn't have had the best of everything, but she was clearly loved and the old man looked so sad.
It just seems that Sassy was all he had, and now he was left with nothing.
Is there some kind of organization that we can donate to that will help older people, yes even homeless ones get the basics for their pets without losing them?
I'm sure this will all be mis understood and that I'll get jumped on because of animal rights and yes I KNOW the dog needed medical attention.
It just seems that there should be a kinder more dignified way of dealing with the situation.

Yes, I think they should have had the dog vetted and returned.
Yesterday we had a homeless man looking for his dog at the shelter where I volunteer and we had him and didn't charge him because he is homeless anyways the dog looks well cared for and he said he doesn't have a current address so the lady who runs the shelter put the shelter's contact info if they get loose again because he said he is going to another state and his dogs being old will probably be euthanized after 72 hours in a kill shelter. I mean this guy said he had food for the dogs so obviously he loves his dogs and we offered him some for his dogs but he said he had some.

I saw the show also and felt really bad for the man. But Sassy was 6 months old and her hip was fractured from being hit by a car. Had they not intervened, it would have gotten infected and she would have died. Her recovery took months.

I saw their solution as being pragmatic. They would have no way to contact the man as he was homeless. While he might have loved her, the fact that she got loose from him and was hit by a car tells me that he really didn't have the facilities to take care of her properly. Most dog rescue organizations won't adopt to families without a fenced yard, let alone no home at all. High kill shelters have less stringent rules as they will take the chance with a dog and adopt it out just to keep it alive. It was obvious with this shelter that they intended to keep the dog as long as it took to give it a good home.

So yeah, I felt bad for the man but Sassy got a much better life as a result of them taking her away from him.

That story definately has two sides to it for me.

The dog was obviously a great companion for the man and I am sure the dog got lots of love and care that a stray would otherwise not find.

Yes the dog needed attention and care after the accident and would have surely come to a sad end without attention. One would have thought the man would have taken the dog for attention if it did get worse, you never know.

We have a few homeless kicking about where I live, all of them have at least one dog and to tell you the truth, its one way of them being cared for as Spain is very thin on the ground in terms of animal shelters - most in my area being run by Brits, which are full to busting - so at least these dogs get cared for to a certain level and the homeless have a companion and some focus in their lives.

All very sad really

The problem with a lot of rescue organization IMO, is that they don't EVER consider the human beings AT ALL. Yes, Sassy got a better life or at least a more financially stable life, but the poor old man, lost his reason to live. Also who's to say that Sassy was more loved in his "richer" home. I think there are times when someone should care about the people as well as the pet. Maybe a "rescue organization" for homeless people.

I agree, Hope. that poor guy lost his only reason to go on. it's so sad.

if I had a dog that was injured and I coudln't afford the medical care I would not expect to be able to keep that dog, even if I had a home. The cops on these shows take injured animals away from families that can't care for them all the time, homeless or not. If you can't afford to provide food, shelter and medical care for yourself how can you do the same for a dog?

I still feel bad for the guy but in the end I don't blame the cop for his decision.

Originally Posted by HopeHacker

The problem with a lot of rescue organization IMO, is that they don't EVER consider the human beings AT ALL. Yes, Sassy got a better life or at least a more financially stable life, but the poor old man, lost his reason to live. Also who's to say that Sassy was more loved in his "richer" home. I think there are times when someone should care about the people as well as the pet. Maybe a "rescue organization" for homeless people.

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yes, I agree that rescue people can sometimes be very uppity and rude to us humans. I think they get jaded with the cruelties that some people are capable of, and they start forgetting that we're not all that way.

I knew of a dog once that lived in a beautiful home in a suburb where all the lawns were perfectly manicured. both humans were lawyers and worked long hours. the dog spent the first 18 months of her life closed in the laundry room, to keep her from "soiling" and shedding on the new carpeting. Because of her lack of training and socializationshe was a fear biter and she was eventually euthanized.

then the flip side of the coin is that homeless man and his "Sassy". No money for the necessities but limitless love and attention. And I dare say she was well socialized and used to all kinds of sights, smells, and sounds...

I guess there's just no perfect answer is there? But I do think extenuating circumstances should be considered, with the human beings feelings added to the equation.

Originally Posted by Miagi's_Mommy

Yes, I think they should have had the dog vetted and returned.
Yesterday we had a homeless man looking for his dog at the shelter where I volunteer and we had him and didn't charge him because he is homeless anyways the dog looks well cared for and he said he doesn't have a current address so the lady who runs the shelter put the shelter's contact info if they get loose again because he said he is going to another state and his dogs being old will probably be euthanized after 72 hours in a kill shelter.

I mean this guy said he had food for the dogs so obviously he loves his dogs and we offered him some for his dogs but he said he had some.

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I'm so glad the man and his dog were able to stay together. And bless you for re-uniting them and offering food. If we all had a shelter like that in our county...